Sealing body



E. BORNAND SEALING BODY Filed July 18, 1924 5. ad@ ffm .lll l 1 vic Patented July 20, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST BORNAND, 0F BERNE, SWITZERLAND.

SEALING BODY.

Application filed July 18, 1924, Serial No. 726,870, and in Switzerland August 8, 1923.

Sealing wax usually used in sticks or lozenges is inconvenient in that it is necessary to have an appliance to heat it. They have already tried to do away with this inconvenience, for the sticks, by providing these with a wick of fibrous matter, likea candle, or with combustible fibrous material mixed with the composition, or with a real candle, but this did not act, as the wick or fibrous material does not provide sufficient heat to melt the mass of wax, so that it is the latter, which in burning gives the required heat to reduce the end of the stick to a semifluid state, thatl is applied to the object required to be sealed. This cannot be done without a slight carbonization and decomposition of thel wax which is disagreeable and the operation takes too much time.

The sticks of sealing wax, provided with candles, are moreover very diiiicult to manufacture and it can happen, when they are being used, that melted paraiiine or stearine gets mixed in with the sealing wax.

The employment of mixtures, containing more or less explosive material has also been suggested. Such mixtures are not suitable for sticks. On lozenges there will be left a quantity of ashes, which spoils the looks of the seal.

- These disadvantages are done away with in the application of this invention. The sealing body made in accordance with the present invention is unique in that it consists of a piece of sealing wax having firmly held in contact therewith one or more pieces of a solid combustible material comprising in major part a solid and volatilizable polymerized aldehyde, so arranged that the coinbustible material can be easily ignited. Such an aldehyde in practically pure state may be used, for instance, agglomerated through pressure, or it may be mixed with a small proportion of an agglomerating substance., as is explained further on.

We may advantageously employ, for example, metaldehyde (C21-1,0), or trioxymethylene (CHZO), The metaldehyde is obtained through the polymerization of the acetaldehyde; it forms white crystals and burns without melting. Such bodies have the advantage to burn with suiiicient rapidity and do not leave any ashes.

In the following it is understood that the combustible used is metaldehyde, but the inbody; and another polymerized solid and volatile aldehyde, for example, trioxymethylene, could `also ybe used.

The wax can be in the form of sticks with a shaft of metaldehyde placed in the center, in the manner that graphite is placed in a pencil. This shaft may either be placed in the center or more or less out of center. The wax can also be made up in the form of lozenges either of one colour, or several colours, showing in their face side grooves in which is placed a small quantity of metaldehyde. The metaldehyde may also be simply laid on the wax. Each of the lozenges then already forms a little seal, which it will only be necessary to put on the required place and ignite. lVhen the metaldehyde has burned, the wax has melted and the required impression may be made by the application of the seal. The upper part of the lozenges may with advantage be encased in a light Celluloid shell or other covering which ignites easily, in order to instantly light the whole upper surface of the lozenge. This latter may also be in the form of an escutcheon.

Either the metaldehyde or the shell used in order to light it, or even the wax itself may have an aromatic substance, or liquid, added in order to give a perfume to the articles requiring to be sealed or to produce an agreeable odour when sealing. The composition of the wax may be the same as in ordinary sealing wax, or be made more easily fusible. The use of a wax which melts easily is made possible by the fact that there is no longer any fear that drops of wax fall on the object used to heat it (a candle for example) since this is done away with. The sealing body here described offers the many advantages enumerated below:

(l) Great convenience of application, resulting from the leaving away of a combustible substance, on the outside of the sticks or the lozenges.

(2) Great cleanliness: we can henceforth seal our letters without fear of soiling our hands.

(3) The colour of the seals lobtained is the same as the colour of the wax employed, which is due to the fact that the wax, in this new process, is no longer brought to such high temperatures as to change its constituvention is not limited to the use of this ent elements, more especially its colour. It

follows that the seals niade With this neur Wax are 'ia-r more beautiful than the other ones. Y

(el) lVe obtain a reduction Which ought not to be neglected in the price ot' the Wan through the tact that substances are left out, which in the ordinary kinds olf Wax are intended to keep up the combustion.

(5) 'The sealing body here described has likewise great advantages from the fact that i thetvaX is 'siniply brought to the state ol:

'fusion and no 'longer to the @int of combustion as is the case with orc in'ary Wax, of eliminating the risk of hui-ning thedoeu- -inents and securities contained in the letters to he sealed,v as 'sometimes happens 'with (irdinary A Y A Wax giving goed .results may be'made 'ier eraniplejor the following substances:

venetian rurpenrihefi pai-is', black resin 35 parts, gum 2 0 parte, plaster oi Paris lplaced parallel.

3'0 part-s, cin'nabar 5 parts.

The annexed sketch gives an idea 'ofi the two 'Ways 'owvorking out the object ot the invention. i f A Figure '1 'shows 'an ordinary stick iur' With a shaltjo'f inetaldehyde.

Figur-ess and s are variations.

Figure i shows 'loze-.nge Yseen 'from above.,

Figure '5 shows a section 'of the saine lozenge. i I -V ...,n. Jl. n F or the preparation or the sticks, they can two lots, one oi 'which 'shows 'a groove to ree'eiv'e a small sheit ol met-aideh-de and the other will attachitseli' tothe surface lori'ned Y by "the Wax andthe nictaldehyde, these parts Ythe ni'ould and 'can be bound by a. single transverse bar`, like the teeth of coinb. The movement of the cores may be made by 'a rotating cani Working on thetransveiise bar and by a saring. instead of allowing the nio'veinent of the cores during the cooling, it is possible also l'after 'c'o'olin'g, to rapidly reheat the cores with the object oiinel'ting thevv'ax' that had stuck to thein and thus allot7 the cores tc be removed. This could bel done e. g. by passing anelectiic 'current, 'the cores making a conductor, or by Vlurnishing these 'with "an interiorA resistance Vthrough which the current could pass. The

ico'res Ycould advantageously be in iron or other vcheap 'metal to which Athe Wax would stick as little as possible. The Ycores `could also be simply formed Y or" hollow tubes through which We could pass a cooling fluid, in 'order to prevent the Wax roin sticking.

'ihe insertion of the shaits of nietaldehyde in 'the sticks can be executed by placing these in the parallel grooves oi' a plate, grooves in the extension ot which the holes of the sticks occur. Several shatts can thus be introduced at one and the saine time by pushing them with the help of a movable inediuin which "Will introduce sliding teeth into the grooves. The shait's of metaldeliyde should forni ironia tenth 'to a twenty-Hlth part of thestick. The 'saine stick could contain two or more shafts of inetal'd'ehyde.

lt ina-y be'adyantag'eous, in order to ensure that the Whole oi' the stick of 'W'faz 'can be ina-de use or, to supply the Aend of the stick With 'a U-shaped handle in Wood or other suitable material (see Fig. 2). 'llie' l'ozenges could be produced through pouring or through stamping out o l a still plastic niass 'oi sealing ivaX. For the forniing ot the lozenges one 'could 'cover tablets orA Wax with 'a co1np sition formed ol metal'- dehyde in 'powder or'in mixed hot for 'preference, in very highly concentrated solution otl black resin in alcohol. The quantityol the solution used 'and its concentration shall preferably be such, that the com bustiblc vmaterial after hardening through evaporation of the zi-lcoh'ol7 'shall contain troni 5 to of black resin. Such a 'composition could also be used to make the 'shafts yto be put into the sticks. It is understood that under the Ae'x]; ressi'on Wax for sealing We are to understand any Vand all Vsubstances which are convenient for sealing and have to b e previouslyli'e'ated for the cperationfof sealing; sealing Wax? land was for sealing 'do mean `the sain-e thing.

Having thus ldescribed ni'y invention, what l consider is new and desire 'to secure by Letters Patent in the United 'States is: v

l. A sealing body cnnsistingol a piece orp sealing Wax liar/*ing iiriniy held in 'Contact therewith at least one vpiece of aV solid combustible mate-rial comprising in maj-or pari.

a solid and volatilizable Vpolyineiized aldeliyde, so arranged that the 'conibu'stible mate- 'rial can be easily ignited.

2. sealing body, consisting 'of a 'piece of lsealing Wax havingv firmly hel-'d in contact therewith at least one 'piece of 'a Vsolid com bustibl'e material substantially#consisting of a solid and voiatilizahle jpoiyrnerireu aldehyd'e, so arranged that the combustible Inaterial can be easily ignited.

A 'sealing body consisting el a piece of 'sealing Wax niade in the shape of a stick, and 4of one sh'afto'll a solid 4'conibustible 'subst a-ntially l'con'eistinf of solid and 'vol'atilizable polyneri'zed laldehyde7 the shalt being kdisposed Within the stick oi the tv a'X' as Well as arranged longitudinally of the latter.

4^. A sealing body consisting of a piece of sealing Wax made in the shape of a stick and of one shaft substantially consisting of Inetaldehyde, the Shaft being disposed Within I the stick of the Wax as Well as arranged longitudinally of the latter.

5. A sealing body consisting of a piece of sealing Wax made in the shape of a stick and of one shaft Substantially Consisting of metaldehyde, the shaft being disposed Wth- 10 In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ERNEST BORNAND. 

